


Take My Hand

by riverwrenwrites



Series: Who You Gonna Call [2]
Category: The Umbrella Academy (TV)
Genre: Fluff, Fluff and Angst, M/M, not really angst just.. it's Klaus and he's sad a lot.. you get it
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2020-03-21
Updated: 2020-08-13
Packaged: 2021-02-28 20:07:52
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 8
Words: 15,148
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/23202967
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/riverwrenwrites/pseuds/riverwrenwrites
Summary: Take my whole life too..Partner Fic to Who You Gonna Call..?  In which Klaus and Dave find fleeting moments away from Diego, and wind up falling for each other.
Relationships: Dave/Klaus Hargreeves
Series: Who You Gonna Call [2]
Series URL: https://archiveofourown.org/series/1668154
Comments: 148
Kudos: 569





	1. Chapter 1

**Author's Note:**

> For reference this part takes place in chapter 4 of wygc.

“Are you coming?”

Klaus was looking at him, his head cocked and his eyes hopeful as he lingered in the doorway. For a moment, Dave found himself stuck for words, glancing over at Diego who just shrugged at him. 

“You don’t need my permission, man.” 

“Right,” Dave chuckled. “I’m an adult.” 

With that, he followed Klaus through the doorway. Klaus sauntered back across the shop floor and Dave watched him curiously. He walked like there were pins in his shoes, barely grazing the ground with each foot and practically floating across the floor. 

“I feel very light on my feet today,” Klaus said, and Dave worried for a moment that he’d been thinking out loud. “I’m not sure if it’s the sobriety or the fact that I haven’t eaten all day.”

“You should probably eat something,” Dave told him as he followed him outside and Klaus hummed in response.

He sat himself down on the curb and Dave sat beside him, pulling his lighter out of his pocket and flicking it a few times while Klaus fumbled with shaky hands to open the cigarette pack. When Klaus finally got one out, he held it between his lips, not taking his eyes off Dave while he lit it. He watched him intently, looking up at him from under long, dark lashes with a curious, almost confused look in his eyes. As if Dave doing something as simple as lighting a cigarette for him was unexpected. He leant back on one hand and looked up at the sky while Dave lit his own cigarette, and for a moment the two of them were quiet. 

“Are you okay?” Dave asked when he saw Klaus’ hand was still shaking. 

“Yeah. Yeah, I’m peachy!” Klaus grinned, waving him off. “Just… bad dream. It’s nothing. Where are you from, Dave?” 

The abrupt change of topic caught him off guard, and for a moment he found himself fumbling to remember his own home. 

“Uh, Alberta,” He said. “I only moved here last week.”

“That’s a long way to move,” Klaus said quietly, and then he smirked, nudging Dave’s arm with his elbow. “If you ever want a tour of the place, I know all the best spots in town.” 

He got the impression that Klaus’ idea of the best spots in town were probably quite a bit different than most people’s. But then, Dave had never really been interested in what most people thought, so he nodded, and this time the smile that spread across Klaus’ face looked genuine. 

“I’ve thought about doing that a lot. Moving to a completely new place and starting over, I mean.” Klaus took a drag of his cigarette, gazing wistfully out across the street. 

“What’s stopping you?”

“Oh, lots of things,” He sighed. “Money. Need a little more of that. And I can’t drive, which is… limiting.” 

“You can learn to drive,” Dave pointed out and Klaus shook his head. 

“I know  _ how  _ to drive, it’s just hard to tell whether the people on the road are… you know…  _ alive  _ or not. And apparently it’s ‘irresponsible’ and ‘illegal’ to drive under the influence.” 

Dave nodded thoughtfully. For all the movies he’d watched, it had never really occurred to him how  _ inconvenient  _ it would be to be surrounded by ghosts all the time. 

“Besides,” Klaus continued. “Even if I  _ did  _ have money, and I  _ could  _ drive, I don’t think I could bring myself to leave Diego like that. He already lost everyone else, I don’t think he could…” He trailed off, taking another drag of his cigarette and letting out a deep sigh. “Doesn’t matter anyway. It’s never gonna happen.” 

“Where would you go?” Dave asked, trying to put a positive spin back on the conversation. “If you could leave?” 

For once Klaus didn’t have an immediate response to that, sucking his bottom lip between his teeth and furrowing his brow as he mulled the question over. 

“I don’t know,” He finally said, looking over at him. “There’s lots of places I wanna visit. I’d like to go to Munich, but my German still needs some work. Right now I only know the important stuff. You know, ‘hello’, ‘goodbye’, ‘wo ist das nächste bordell?’”

He stared at Klaus blankly. “What’s that mean?”

“Where’s the nearest brothel?” 

Dave burst out laughing at that and Klaus’ face lit up. He laughed in short bursts, like he was trying to stop himself from doing it, and Dave couldn’t stop himself from constantly sneaking glances at Klaus, watching the way his eyes crinkled in the corners and his whole face creased up while he smiled. The next time he looked at him, Klaus looked back, his eyes flicking across his face curiously before darting away again. In his whole life, Dave had never met anyone that seemed as confident and sure of themselves as Klaus did, but now he looked a little self-conscious, tucking his knees up and turning his face away from him for a moment. 

“If it’s any consolation,” Dave said, not ready for their conversation to come to an end yet. “You already know more German than me.”

Klaus huffed out a laugh at that and turned back towards him, looking him up and down like he was studying an exotic animal. 

“You’re very sweet, Dave,” He said matter-of-factly, cocking his head at him. “I see why Diego likes you.” 

He chuckled, feeling a little self-conscious with Klaus’ eyes still fixed on him. “I uh… I don’t know if he  _ likes  _ me. I don’t think he got much of a say in me being here.” 

“Trust me, if he didn’t like you he would have found a way to ditch you by now,” Klaus said with a smirk. “But you’re still here, which means he’s willing to tolerate you. And that’s probably about the highest compliment you’re ever gonna get from him.” 

While Dave tried to process the fact that Diego Hargreeves, the  _ actual  _ Diego Hargreeves, was tolerating him, Klaus stubbed his cigarette out on the sidewalk and drummed his hands on his knees restlessly.

“For what it’s worth, I’m glad he does like you,” He said, shrugging his shoulders. “It’s nice having someone different to talk to. Usually I’m limited to stoners or my siblings.” Klaus’s face changed for a moment when he said that, but then he smiled again and hopped to his feet, holding his hand out to help him up. “Shall we?” 

Klaus’ hand was cold when he took it, and Dave found himself squeezing it instinctively to try and warm him up. That seemed to catch Klaus off guard and he snatched his hand away again, shoving it in his pocket and smiling timidly at him before turning and heading back inside. 

Dave smiled back, even though Klaus’ back was already turned, and watched him for a moment before following. Suddenly, being in a new city full of strangers felt a little less overwhelming, and his hand still felt a little cold where Klaus had held it. 


	2. Chapter 2

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> It's arcade time babeyy

“Dave, you stay along the far wall,” Diego instructed, nodding towards a cluster of arcade games across the room before turning to look at Klaus. “You… you can do what you want, I guess. Who’d you wanna go with?” 

“Oh, um…”

Klaus looked like a deer in headlights. He looked over at Dave, and for a split second he thought he might be about to go with him. Not that it mattered, obviously, but Dave couldn’t help feeling slightly disappointed when he turned back to Diego again. 

“I don’t know. Why are you making me choose? I hate this.”

Shaking his head despairingly, Diego beckoned him over. “Fine. You’re with me. Let’s go.” 

They parted ways, heading in opposite directions across the arcade. Dave managed to find a spot by the claw machines with a good view of what M was doing. He could also see Klaus and Diego through the glass, absorbed in a game of air hockey. Diego looked completely focused, his tongue poked out in concentration, while Klaus was leant casually against the table with his chin rested on his hand, watching his brother in mild amusement. Dave found himself watching him for a few minutes, hypnotised by Klaus’ smile, until he felt someone nudging his arm. 

“You gonna use that or just stand there, jackass?” A very angry looking teenager asked, folding his arms and looking up at him. 

“Oh. Sorry,” He mumbled, shuffling awkwardly out of the way. 

“Weirdo.”

Trying not to look too obviously offended in front of this thirteen year old, Dave wandered further across the arcade and busied himself with a game of Pacman. 

Three games in, he was starting to get a headache from constantly looking back and forth between M and the screen he was standing in front of, although, as it turned out, he was a lot better at Pacman than he remembered. He ended up getting so engrossed in the game he didn’t notice anyone coming up behind him, and a tap on his shoulder made him almost jump out of his skin. 

While Dave clutched his chest and tried to get his heart rate back under control, Klaus leant against the machine and folded his arms, watching him with a strange intensity. 

“Um…” Dave scratched his neck awkwardly. “I thought you were with Diego?” 

“I got bored of beating him.” Klaus shrugged. “What are you doing?”

Dave glanced back at the screen in time to see “GAME OVER” flash up in bold letters. 

“Losing, apparently,” He said, turning back towards Klaus, who sniggered at him. 

“I’m sorry.” 

“It’s okay. I was never any good at this one anyway.”

“Oh?” Klaus cocked his head curiously. “What are you good at?” 

It was incredibly difficult to tell whether Klaus was flirting with him, or if this was just his personality. Every time Dave thought he was starting to get a read on him, he did something else unpredictable. 

He realised he was taking way too long to answer Klaus’ question and cleared his throat, and Klaus watched him with interest while he tried to think of something to say. 

“I used to be pretty good on the claw machines when I was a kid,” He finally said when his eyes fell on the machine behind them. 

Klaus gasped dramatically and clapped his hands together. “Show me!” 

“I haven’t played on one since I was fourteen.” 

Despite his apprehension, Dave found himself making his way across the floor anyway, with Klaus following eagerly behind him. He pressed his face up against the glass and gazed at the pile of plush animals inside with wide, childlike eyes while Dave fished some coins out of his pocket. 

“Which one do you want?” He asked, unable to stop himself from smiling when Klaus looked up at him excitedly. 

“Me?” He asked, as if Dave could possibly have been addressing anyone else, a sudden look of uncertainty flashing across his face when he nodded. “I… You don’t have to waste your money.”

“I’m not wasting anything,” He said firmly. “Pick one.” 

It took Klaus a few minutes to make a decision, verbally listing the pros and cons of six different toys while Dave waited patiently with his hand poised on the joystick. Finally, he settled on a large white unicorn with wild blue hair, squashed into the corner of the machine and buried under a couple of smaller toys. 

“Will you be able to get to him?” Klaus asked, looking up at him doubtfully. 

Internally, Dave had already decided that he was perfectly happy to spend all the money he had on him winning this stupid toy for Klaus, but he didn’t say that out loud. Instead, he nodded, smiling at him and turning to focus on what he was doing. Klaus circled around the machine a few times, watching from a few different angles before eventually coming up behind him and watching over Dave’s shoulder. 

He was  _ very  _ aware of how close Klaus was standing, the thick material of the hoodie he was wearing brushing against Dave’s while he swayed back and forth. When he snuck a glance over his shoulder at him, Klaus’ eyes were fixed on the claw he was operating, watching it intently like this was the most important thing in the world. And it kind of felt like it was. He’d never felt this amount of pressure playing on these things as a teenager, but he’d sooner stay in this arcade all night than leave empty handed. 

As he maneuvered the claw, he felt Klaus’ hand on his arm, squeezing tightly as he got closer to the toy. 

“This is so stupid,” Klaus said quietly in his ear when he realised what he was doing. “I’ve never been more stressed out.”

“Middle of a homicide investigation and  _ this  _ is the thing that’s making us nervous.”

He sniggered at that and Dave turned towards him, keeping his face as serious as possible. 

“Relax. If I don’t win I’m gonna smash this machine open and get the fuckin’ unicorn myself.” 

Klaus’ face softened for a moment into an expression Dave hadn’t seen on him before, but then the corner of his mouth twitched back into a smile and he cocked his eyebrow at him. 

“Are you  _ flirting _ with me, Dave?” He asked, sounding almost impressed. 

Dave opened his mouth to respond, then snapped it shut again and turned back towards the claw machine. 

“Stop distracting me, I have a game to win,” He mumbled while Klaus chuckled behind him. 

When the claw pushed past the smaller toys and latched on to the unicorn’s arm, Klaus flung his arms around Dave’s neck and shook him back and forth excitedly. And when he dropped the toy directly into the prize slot, Klaus squeezed him with a lot more strength than Dave had expected from someone so skinny. 

“You did it!” Klaus exclaimed. “I’ve never seen anybody actually  _ win  _ one of these things before. Except Five. But he was  _ definitely  _ cheating.” 

Dave chuckled and picked up the toy, which was a lot bigger than he’d realised, and handed it to Klaus, who held it at arm's length and inspected it for a moment. He had a strange expression on his face that Dave couldn’t quite decipher, like he wasn’t sure what to do with the unicorn now that he had it. After almost a minute of looking at it, he hugged it to his chest, and Dave frowned when his expression grew sadder. 

“You okay?” He asked and Klaus nodded. 

“Yeah, I’m fine,” He said quietly, looking back down at the toy in his arms. “I’m okay. I just… I’ve never…” It was strange seeing Klaus struggling for words, and he looked just as surprised about it himself. “Nobody’s ever really…  _ given  _ me anything before. Usually I just take stuff. Um… Thank you, I… This is really sweet.” 

Before Dave could say anything, Klaus turned the toy around and held it up to him, the smile returning to his face again. 

“Look at his little glasses,” He said, pointing at the purple, star shaped frames on the unicorn’s face, and Dave laughed. 

“He looks like Elton John.”

“Yeah!” Klaus exclaimed. “Yeah, he does! That’s what I’m gonna name him. Sir Elton John.” He examined the plushie again, petting its mane affectionately. “Kinda looks like a toy I used to have when I was a kid.” 

“Did your dad get it for you?” Dave asked, hopeful that maybe the guy wasn’t quite as terrible as Diego made him out to be. 

Klaus snorted. “No, I stole it,” He said quietly. “Then I cut it open and used it to hide drug stashes.” 

“Oh.” 

He rocked back on his heels and swung his arms awkwardly, unsure of how to respond, and after a moment Klaus looked up at him again with a dawning realisation on his face. 

“Sorry,” He said, shaking his head to himself. “You’re just trying to have a normal conversation with me, aren’t you?” 

He said it as though it was something out of the ordinary, but he smiled when Dave nodded. 

“Ask me something else,” Klaus prompted as he leant back against the claw machine. “I’ll try not to say anything weird, depressing, or otherwise distracting this time.” 

“You sure you can manage that?” Dave teased and Klaus sniggered. 

It took him a while to think of something to ask, going back and forth in his head trying to decide whether to ask something mundane or something more personal. Klaus watched him with interest, his eyes a bright, almost unnatural green in the arcade lights. 

“Okay, I didn’t expect you to take this so seriously.” Klaus kicked his leg out and nudged Dave’s leg with his foot, wrapping his arms tighter around the toy unicorn. 

“I’m taking it  _ very  _ seriously,” Dave said lowly, taking a step towards him. 

There was a mischievous glint in Klaus’ eyes as he pressed himself back against the glass, biting his lip and grinning up at him. It was the most relaxed he’d ever seen Klaus look, like he’d finally found his way back into his comfort zone. Dave had never met anyone before who was so clearly aware of their own appeal, but so clearly confused any time he showed an interest in him. Everything about Klaus was paradoxical, but it only drew Dave in more. 

He was barely aware of himself taking another step towards Klaus, but suddenly they were only a few inches apart, and Klaus was looking up at him curiously. There were a few faint freckles on his nose that Dave hadn’t noticed before, and some stubborn flecks of glitter still stuck to his eyelids from the night before that sparkled every time he blinked. 

“Are you flirting with me  _ again _ , Dave?” Klaus asked playfully. 

“Thought it was my turn to ask a question?” 

Klaus hummed, cocking his head and leaning in closer, silently daring him to close the rest of the gap. Somehow, his brain was still functioning enough to finally think of a good question to ask, but before he had a chance to open his mouth there was a voice behind them. 

“What are you idiots doing?”

As soon as he saw Diego he leapt backwards, and Klaus glared at his brother like he was ready to kill him. 

It wasn’t until hours later that he finally got a chance to finish their conversation, as the three of them sat in his car on tenterhooks while Klaus dialed the number M had given him. 

“It’s still switched off,” He said and Diego let out a frustrated sigh.

“We can try again tomorrow.”

He frowned, thinking about all the boxes he  _ still  _ hadn’t unpacked in his apartment, and the plans he was  _ hoping  _ to make. “Are we… Working tomorrow too?” 

Diego looked lost for a moment before shaking his head. “I guess it can wait until Monday,” He said as he moved to get out of the car. “Thanks for coming today.” 

“No problem.” Dave waved him off. 

He waited until Diego had shut the door before turning to Klaus, reaching out and tapping his arm before he could get out of the car. 

“Hey,” He said and Klaus hummed, turning back towards him. “I never got to ask you my question.”

Sniggering, Klaus scooted closer, folding his arms on top of the headrest and resting his chin on them. 

“Shoot.” 

“Are you doing anything tomorrow?” 

Klaus blinked at him in surprise. “Um… Not really. Besides wallowing in self-pity.”

“Hey, you promised there’d be no depressing answers.”

“Oh, right. Right, right, yeah. Sorry. No, I’m not doing anything. Was that your question?” 

“Part of it.” He smirked. “Do you wanna go out somewhere? I mean, I don’t know  _ where _ . But you did say you’d show me around.”

For a moment Klaus was quiet, and Dave worried he might have misread things, but then he chuckled.

“You’ll be hard pressed to get Diego to do anything that doesn’t involve solving a murder and saving the world right now.”

“Klaus.”

“Mm?”

“I meant  _ just  _ you.” 

“Oh.” Klaus blinked at him. “Right.”

“You can say no,” Dave added but he shook his head. 

“No! No, no, I mean, yeah. Yeah, no, that sounds nice..”

Dave stared back at him and raised his eyebrow. 

“Okay, I have no idea if you’re agreeing or not,” He said and Klaus laughed, hiding his face in his arms for a moment. 

“I’m agreeing,” He finally said, looking back up at him. 

“Okay.” Dave chuckled. “I’ll pick you up tomorrow then?” 

“Yeah, okay,” Klaus said in a quiet voice. “See you tomorrow.” 

With that, he got out of the car, leaving Dave wondering what the hell kind of date he could plan to impress a superhero. 

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Oh sorry what was that Dave? You're planning a date? You're planning a date that absolutely isn't a date? Okay.


	3. Chapter 3

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> This took me ages to write for some reason but we got some Dave backstory, we got some Klaus sadness, we got some validation, we got some intricate rituals, step right up queens.

The next morning while Dave was sitting in the laundrette, which, conveniently, was just across the street from his new apartment, he slipped his hand into his jacket pocket and found that Klaus had somehow managed to slip him his phone number on a crumpled piece of paper. Smiling to himself, he pulled his phone out and sent him a message, and a few minutes later Klaus sent an essay of a response, detailing almost everything he’d done since waking up. He chuckled, and the woman loading clothes into a dryer next to him raised her eyebrow at him. 

They texted back and forth throughout the day while Dave made slow progress unpacking. He managed to unpack one suitcase, which seemed to mostly be full of socks, before Klaus turned the conversation towards the plans they’d made yesterday, and he was forced to try and come up with a concrete idea of what they were going to do. When he suggested a picnic, Klaus jumped at the idea, immediately suggesting a dozen different locations he’d never heard of. They agreed on a time, and Dave then spent the rest of the afternoon preparing way too much food for two people. 

Once everything was packed in tupperware and loaded into the back of his car, he changed into one of the few shirts he’d gotten around to unpacking, a teal one with a black and white floral pattern, grabbed his jacket, and headed over to Klaus’ apartment. He sent him a message once he’d pulled up outside and sat back in his seat, drumming his fingers patiently against the steering wheel. He could see silhouettes moving through the window, but it was another fifteen minutes before Klaus appeared, which was more than enough time for Dave’s nerves to start setting in. He’d never been nervous about a date before. He wasn’t even sure if this  _ was  _ a date. But what he  _ did  _ know was that he was going out with someone he was actually interested in, for probably the first time in his life. 

He was pulled out of his thoughts by the sound of Klaus tapping on the window, waving at him when he turned to look at him.

“Hi,” Klaus said with a grin when he rolled down the window. 

“Hi.” He smiled up at him. “You… Wow…”

Dave trailed off as he looked Klaus up and down. He was wearing a black crop top, and a deep blue floor-length skirt that he recognised from the pawn shop. A collection of necklaces were hung around his neck, and his dark hair was curling in his face. 

“You like it?” Klaus asked, grabbing the edges of his skirt and twirling the fabric around. “It fits perfectly. Someone up there must have wanted me to have it.” 

“It looks good,” Dave told him and Klaus smiled, hanging his head bashfully. “Are you ready to go?”

Klaus nodded and circled around the car, climbing into the passenger seat. 

“I thought of a good spot for us to go,” Klaus said as they headed up the road, sounding pretty pleased with himself. “I think you’ll like it. This is gonna be fun! I’ve never been on a picnic before.” 

“You’ve  _ never  _ been on a picnic?” Dave asked, a little skeptical, and Klaus nodded. 

“Dad was never one for outdoor activities.” He shrugged. “Or indoor activities. Or anything that didn’t involve the greater good.”

He waved his hands dramatically and Dave chuckled, turning his attention back to the road. It was about a twenty minute drive to the spot Klaus had picked, at the edge of the city where the buildings started to fall away, replaced by trees and patches of grass. They parked at the side of the road, and Dave grabbed the food from his car, handing Klaus a blanket which he wrapped around his shoulders like a cape before heading up a small hill. 

There was a patch of grass at the top of the hill, no more than a few square feet, but big enough that Klaus could lay the blanket out, sitting cross legged and patting the spot next to him for Dave to sit. They could see most of the city from where they were sat, and the sun just starting to disappear behind the distant buildings, turning the whole sky a shade of orange. 

“What do you think?” Klaus asked, cocking his head curiously. 

Dave looked out at the view and smiled. “It’s nice.” 

“Not as nice as the views where you used to live though, huh?” 

“I don’t know.” He shrugged. “Lakes and mountains stop being impressive after a while.”

Klaus sniggered. “I’ve never seen a mountain,” He said thoughtfully as he stared into the distance. “What are they like?” 

“Big,” Dave said flatly and Klaus laughed, the corner of his eyes crinkling and his nose scrunching up adorably. 

After a few minutes, Dave pulled out a few boxes of food and spread them out in front of them. Eagerly, Klaus grabbed one and examined its contents. 

“You made this?” He asked, taking the fork Dave handed to him. “What is it?” 

“Kugel,” Dave told him while Klaus shovelled a forkful into his mouth. “It’s my grandma’s recipe. She used to make it for Passover.” 

“Well your grandma is a genius,” Klaus said through a mouthful of food. “I didn’t know you were Jewish.” 

“Really? With a surname like Katz?” 

“Never really thought about it.” He shrugged. “I took a DNA test once that said I had some Jewish ancestry.”

Dave cocked his eyebrow at him. “Yeah?”

“Mm. There was all sorts in there. German, Austrian, Irish, plus a bunch of stuff they couldn’t identify. I’m an ancestral cocktail.” He chuckled, chewing on his lip and hanging his head. “I’m rambling, sorry. I don’t actually…  _ talk  _ to people very often.”

“I like hearing you talk,” Dave said with a shrug, cracking open a box of pasta. 

Klaus was smiling at him when he looked back up, his eyes sparkling in the fading sunlight. A lock of hair fell in his face, making his nose twitch. Dave sniggered, and then Klaus laughed, and soon both of them were giggling like school kids, laughing until they couldn’t remember what they were laughing about anymore. 

They got through most of the food, and ended up laying on their backs on the grass, staring up at the stars. 

“Do you do a lot of cooking, Dave?” Klaus asked after a moment of silence, turning his head to look at him. 

“Uh, yeah, I guess,” Dave said quietly. “I used to cook with my grandma all the time. Guess I picked some stuff up.”

“Did you live with her?”

“Not officially. I just stayed over a lot.” He chuckled. “The rest of my family thought she was crazy ‘cause she lived in a trailer and made money selling handmade sweaters for rats, but I liked her.”

“Oh, she sounds wonderful,” Klaus said, grinning at him. 

“She’d have loved you.” Dave smiled fondly at the thought of them meeting. “She never liked  _ any  _ of my boyfriends, but I think she’d like you.” He paused, realising what he’d said and turning towards him. “Not that we’re… I just meant that… Shit.”

He looked back up at the sky and Klaus giggled. 

“Tell me about the rest of your family.”

When Dave looked over, Klaus was staring wistfully up at the moon, which was almost full above them. 

“It’s not that interesting,” Dave mumbled and Klaus frowned at him. 

“Dave, you’re the most interesting person I’ve ever met,” He said, with no hint of sarcasm. “I wanna know more about you.” 

“Okay,” He said hesitantly. “Well, I’ve got two older sisters. And an older brother.” 

Klaus grinned at him. “You’re the baby? Adorable.” 

“Yeah.” Dave chuckled. “Lizzie is the oldest. She passed her lieutenants exam a few months ago which was a pretty big deal for my dad. He’s a Captain. Wanted us all to ‘follow in his footsteps’, but Liz was the only one to actually do it.”

“You’re a detective,” Klaus pointed out and Dave shrugged. 

“Dad wanted two things; a son, and someone to carry on his ‘legacy’, and by the time I came along he already had both. He couldn’t care less what I do. Just wish I’d figured that out sooner instead of wasting most of my life trying to impress him.”

He sighed and looked over at Klaus, who gave him a sympathetic look and shuffled closer. 

“Dads are such assholes,” He said and Dave nodded. “What does your other sister do?”

“Nancy? She’s a lawyer. For a while she wanted to be a teacher like our mom, but then she ended up going to law school instead. Now she’s loaded and has a huge house somewhere. I’ve never been but apparently it’s nice.” He paused, chewing on his lip for a moment. “And my brother, Jacob… He’s just a prick.”

Klaus laughed at that, clutching his stomach and rolling around on the grass. 

“It’s true,” Dave said, watching Klaus with amusement. “He joined the army when he was nineteen because he thought it’d be cool, and now he has a massive superiority complex and...” He let out a frustrated groan and Klaus giggled. “I never really fit in with any of them. If I didn’t look so much like my dad I’d swear they brought the wrong kid home or something. After grandma died there just… wasn’t much reason for me to stick around anymore.”

“Oh,” Klaus said sadly. “That’s a shame. I would’ve liked to meet her.” He paused, chewing on his lip for a moment and furrowing his brow as he realised what he’d said. “Oh, wait.”

Dave chuckled. “Could you really talk to her? If you wanted?”

“Yeah, but I’d need a lock of your hair first.”

“Really?”

“No.” Klaus smirked. “It’s not as easy as movies make it seem. Or maybe I just suck at controlling my powers. Either way, it’s usually just luck of the draw when I try to conjure someone.”

Dave hummed thoughtfully. “It must be hard learning to control something that nobody else in the world can do.” 

Klaus was silent for a moment, looking at him with a strange expression on his face and nodding slowly. 

“Yeah,” He said quietly. “It is.”

His eyes were distant, like he’d gone somewhere far away, and Dave shuffled closer to him, tentatively reaching out and brushing the stubborn curl of hair back out of his face. Klaus blinked a couple of times and looked back up at him, his eyes flicking back and forth as he looked at his face for a moment before the corner of his mouth twitched back into a smile.

“Sorry,” He said, his voice croaking as he spoke. “I forgot what we were talking about.” 

“That’s okay,” Dave whispered. 

Klaus’ skin was cool under his fingertips and he frowned. The temperature had dropped considerably since the sun went down and, although Klaus didn’t seem bothered by it, Dave felt bad, running his thumb over his cheek before sitting upright and pulling his jacket off. 

“What’s this for?” Klaus asked when he handed the jacket to him.

“I don’t want you to get cold.”

“That’s sweet.”

Dave watched him as he sat up and wrapped the leather jacket around himself, shuffling closer until their shoulders were pressed together and humming happily. 

“Why are you doing this, Dave?” Klaus asked after a few minutes and Dave frowned. 

“Doing what?”

“I don’t know... Being nice to me.” He looked up at him. “If you wanted to fuck me you could’a just said so. You didn’t have to do all of this.” 

Dave blinked at him. “I… Do you think that’s the only reason I invited you out?”

“I mean, yeah.” Klaus chuckled, but then his face turned serious again. “Was it not?” 

“No.”

“Oh.” 

They both sat in silence for a moment, and Klaus clutched at the fabric of his skirt restlessly. 

“It’s getting late,” He said quietly. “I should go. Diego’s probably wondering where I am and-” 

“Klaus,” Dave interrupted, waiting until Klaus looked up at him before he continued. “You don’t have to let people treat you like you’re worthless. You know that, right?” 

Klaus nodded slowly and hung his head, leaning in to him when Dave wrapped his arm around him. 

“I really should get going,” He said after a moment. “I left Diego alone with Patch. That never ends well.” 

“What’s the deal with those two?” Dave asked and Klaus laughed, seeming to perk up a bit at the change of subject. 

“Jesus,” He said with a shake of his head. “They were friends for a while, then Diego got a crush, then he spent about a year pretending he  _ didn’t  _ have a crush, then they started dating, then they stopped dating, and they’ve spent the last year pretending they can keep having meaningless sex without getting emotionally re-involved. It’s sad.” 

Dave laughed and Klaus sighed, nestling his head against his shoulder. 

“He really likes her, and I’m worried he’s gonna get hurt again. He does really stupid stuff when he’s upset,” Klaus mumbled. “He puts himself in danger and I can’t let him keep doing that.”

“He’s not your responsibility, Klaus.”

“Of course he is. When I’m not around he forgets to eat and drinks so much caffeine he gets heart palpitations and thinks he’s dying. Mom told me to look after him and… well I know I’m not doing the  _ best  _ job of it, but I’m trying.”

They were both quiet for a moment, and Dave squeezed his shoulder reassuringly. 

“Didn’t know you had a mom.”

“Technically she was our nanny… and a robot,” Klaus said quietly. “We just called her mom because she was the only nanny that stayed.” 

Dave didn’t have a response to that, so he stayed quiet, listening to Klaus breathing slowly, so slowly that it sometimes seemed like he wasn’t breathing at all. 

“Do you want me to drive you home?” He asked and Klaus nodded, getting to his feet and offering Dave his hand to help him up.

They gathered up the blanket and the remains of the food, carrying it back down the hill. Their hands brushed together as they walked. Neither of them said anything, but Dave hooked his finger around Klaus’, and neither of them let go until they reached the car. The ride back to Klaus’ apartment was quiet, but it wasn’t an uncomfortable silence. Klaus seemed content, staring out of the window at the streetlights as they made their way down the road. 

“This was nice,” He said when they pulled up outside. “I had a nice time.”

“Yeah, me too,” Dave agreed, drumming his fingers against the steering wheel for a moment before looking over at him. “We could… do it again sometime. If you want?” 

“I’d like that.” Klaus nodded. “I’ll try not to ruin it next time.”

“You didn’t ruin anything,” He told him as he opened the door, getting out and following Klaus up to the door. 

They both stood a little awkwardly outside the door, staring at each other like they were both waiting for the other to speak. Klaus looked beautiful with the streetlights warming up his face and his lashes casting shadows over his eyes, and Dave wanted so badly to kiss him, but there was an uncertainty in Klaus’ eyes that made him hesitate. Instead, he leant forward and kissed his cheek, and Klaus hummed happily, blinking up at him and brushing his fingers over the spot he’d kissed. 

“I’ll see you tomorrow?” Klaus said softly and he nodded. 

With that, Klaus disappeared through the door. It wasn’t until Dave got back to his car that he realised Klaus still had his jacket, but he decided he didn’t mind. It just gave him an excuse to see him again.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Later that night the police bust into Dave's apartment and arrest him for yearning too hard. Up next we got uhhhh [checks notes] oh yeah just a short chapter about them seeing the fat rat because so many people seemed to love that hajhdsakj


	4. Chapter 4

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> It's a short one but.. the boys make a friend.

“Keep it up and I’ll be babysitting both of you,” Diego threatened as Dave and Klaus got out of the car. 

Klaus hissed in response but said nothing, taking Dave by the arm and leading him purposefully down the street. 

“What are we looking for, detective?” He asked as they turned the corner, cocking his head playfully at him. 

Something about the way he said “detective” made Dave’s face heat up and his stomach tie itself in a knot. He hoped it wasn’t outwardly obvious, but from the way Klaus was grinning at him, it probably was. Clearing his throat, he tried to focus on what they were doing. 

“We, uh… We need to see if there’s any evidence of a shootout. Empty shells, stuff like that.”

Klaus snorted. “Well that should be easy. Shoot ups are a weekly occurrence here. This city’s gone to total shit since it lost its lovable band of child superheroes.” 

It turned out Klaus wasn’t exaggerating. Everywhere he looked there were signs of some kind of fight. It made him want to wrap Klaus up and take him somewhere safe, where there was no risk of him getting hurt. 

“Oh, I got mugged over there last month,” Klaus piped up, pointing to an alley across the street and smiling as though it were a fond memory. 

Dave frowned at him. “Did you report it?” He asked and Klaus laughed. 

“Christ, no,” He said, looking thoughtful for a moment and turning back towards him. “Is it even a crime to steal drugs from other people? I mean, if anything they  _ stopped  _ me from breaking the law.” 

“Assault is a crime,” Dave pointed out but Klaus just shrugged, waving his hand nonchalantly. “I’m serious, Klaus.”

“I know you are,” Klaus said affectionately, reaching out to take his hand and swinging their arms together as they continued walking. “I’m sorry. People usually don’t pay much attention when I say stuff like that. I’m still trying to get used to you actually… caring about these things.” 

“I don’t want you to  _ stop  _ telling me this stuff. Just wish you wouldn’t act like it doesn’t matter.” 

Klaus hummed. “You’re so sweet, Dave. Has anyone ever told you that?”

“You have. About twenty times now.” 

“Well, it bears repeating.” 

Chuckling, Dave squeezed his hand as they continued down the street for a few minutes. He stopped at the side of the road when he spotted some skidmarks, not far from where M said the shooting happened. Reluctantly he let go of Klaus’ hand so he could take a closer look, crouching down to inspect them while Klaus wandered idly around behind him. 

He let out a loud gasp and Dave spun around to see Klaus standing with wide eyes and his hands clapped over his mouth. 

“What’s wrong?” He asked, standing upright.

Klaus didn’t answer, walking down the alley behind them towards the dumpster. It wasn’t until Dave got closer to him that he realised what he was looking at. On the ground next to the dumpster there was a jet black rat gnawing on a discarded burger bun. 

“He’s  _ huge _ ,” Klaus whispered. “That is the fattest rat I have  _ ever  _ seen.” 

Bending over, Klaus scooped the rat up in his hands. “Look at him!”

“Should you be picking him up like that?” Dave asked cautiously and Klaus sniggered. 

“I’ve injected heroin into my body, Dave. What harm is a street rat gonna do at this point?” 

The rat was so big that its stomach flopped over the edges of both Klaus’ hands, and it seemed perfectly content to sit there and nibble the piece of bread it was holding. Klaus stared at it adoringly, stretching his arms out to give Dave a better look. 

“Did your grandma ever have a customer this big?” 

The implication that the rats were the customers rather than their owners tickled Dave and he sniggered, shaking his head. 

“I don’t think so. She’d have to start a plus size range for this little guy,” He said and Klaus giggled. “I can’t believe he’s just sitting in your hand like that.” 

“Mm,” Klaus hummed thoughtfully. “They always seem to like me. I don’t know why.” He paused, looking up at him and grinning. “You know, I dabble in knitting from time to time. Maybe I should continue your grandma’s legacy? This guy could be my first client! Do you have a tape measure on you? I need to take his measurements.”

“I don’t- why would I have a tape measure with me?” 

“I don’t know. It’s fine, I can do it by eye.” 

“Klaus, there is  _ literally  _ nothing I want more than to see you put a sweater on this rat,” Dave told him. “But I don’t know how well Diego would cope with you bringing a feral rat home right now.” 

Klaus looked down at the rat, then back up at Dave, sighing dejectedly and nodding. 

“Yeah, you’re right,” He said sadly, crouching down and setting the rat back down on the ground. “I’ll come back for you one day, you glorious bastard.”

“We should get back,” Dave said and he nodded, picking himself up and following back down the street. 

Klaus was swinging his arms too erratically for Dave to take his hand as they walked back, so instead he shoved his hands in his pockets and tried not to think about a future with a dozen rats in knitted sweaters. 


	5. Chapter 5

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> They're cute, your honour.

The ride to the hospital was a blur, and Dave wasn’t sure if that was down to the sleep deprivation, or the constant flurry of activity. An EMT stood on one side, sticking all kinds of needles into M’s arm and checking his vitals, while Klaus sat on the other side holding his limp hand and watching him with wide eyes. When they arrived, Dave had to coax Klaus to let him go so they could whisk him away to the emergency ward, leaving them in a small waiting room. 

There was only one other person in the room with them, a woman sat with her legs stretched across two seats and heavy bandages wrapped around her wrist, absentmindedly reading a newspaper and seemingly oblivious to their presence. Despite how empty the room was, Klaus pressed himself up against Dave’s side on the chair, with his arms tucked tightly in as though there was someone else taking up space beside him. He flinched when Dave draped his arm over his shoulder, looking up at him before he relaxed into the touch. 

“Are you okay?” 

Klaus nodded, but he looked paler than usual, and he didn’t seem to be able to completely concentrate on what Dave was saying. Squeezing his shoulder reassuringly, Dave stayed quiet, and Klaus nestled his head against him and bounced his knee restlessly. 

“I really hate hospitals,” He said quietly after a few minutes, and suddenly everything made sense. 

“You don’t have to stay,” Dave told him. “I can call a cab to take you home.”

“No thanks.” Klaus shook his head. “I’m not a fan of cabs.” He paused for a moment, chewing on his lip and trying to press himself closer. “And I don’t really wanna be on my own.”

“Do you wanna go outside?” He asked and Klaus nodded, so Dave guided him to his feet and the two of them made their way back through the door. 

It was freezing outside, and Klaus cuddled closer to him. Fishing a cigarette out of his pocket, he fumbled around for a lighter and smiled gratefully when Dave offered him his. 

“Did you want one?” Klaus’ voice was muffled by the cigarette between his lips, holding another out towards him. 

Dave hesitated for a moment before nodding and taking it. 

“I was planning on quitting after I moved,” He mumbled as he lit it and Klaus laughed quietly.

“In that case I’m probably the last person you should be hanging out with.” 

He exhaled a shaky breath, taking rapid, erratic drags from his cigarette without pausing for breath. The fingers of his free hand were splayed out on the pavement, the tendons raised up as he dug and clawed his nails into the tarmac. Gently, Dave placed his hand on top of Klaus’, silently running his thumb over his knuckles. After a few minutes he lifted Klaus’s hand and rested it in his lap. His fingertips were sore and bloody from how hard he’d been scraping them on the ground, and Dave ran the tip of his index finger over each one in turn, before idly tracing over the faded ink of the “hello” tattoo on his palm. 

Klaus was watching him intently when he looked up, his eyes fixed on Dave’s hand while his cigarette burnt itself out between his fingers. 

“I need to get them redone,” He said quietly, examining the matching tattoo on his other palm. 

“How long have you had them?”

He could see Klaus mentally counting the years in his head before he answered. 

“Almost seven years now.” He took a final drag from his cigarette before stubbing it out on the ground. “Diego and I were having some kind of argument about who had the highest pain threshold, and somehow that ended in us both going down to the tattoo parlour and picking something for the other to get. I picked nipple piercings and he picked palm tattoos.”

Dave chuckled. “There is  _ no  _ way that was a fair comparison.”

“Well, no, but he has this thing about needles so I went easy on him. Still chickened out after the first one though.” He smiled fondly at the memory, looking back up at him. “You can’t tell him I told you that.”

“Scout’s honour,” Dave said as he held his hand up and Klaus sniggered, shuffling closer to him and resting his head on his shoulder. 

Absent-mindedly, Dave wrapped his arm around him and started running his fingers through his hair, and Klaus hummed. 

“You feeling any better?” 

“Not really,” Klaus admitted. “But you’re making it more bearable.”

They sat together for a few more minutes before Dave had to reluctantly tear himself away to go and check on M. 

“A couple of guys from the station are coming down to take over,” He told Klaus before he left. “So just…”

“Try not to do anything illegal?” 

“Basically, yeah.” Dave smirked, squeezing his shoulder before turning and heading back inside. 

It was eerily quiet inside, and he couldn’t help but feel uneasy as he walked past the empty waiting room chairs. A nurse led him through a maze of corridors to M’s room, where he lay unconscious in bed with half a dozen wires hooked up to machines. 

“He’s stable for now,” The nurse told him. “But it’ll be a while before he’s fully recovered.”

Dave nodded and she turned on her heel, leaving him alone with the sound of beeping machinery. Sighing, he slumped himself into the chair next to the bed, reading the posters and notes on the wall to try and stop himself from falling asleep. It wasn’t long before his eyes fell on the medical notes above the bed, where the name Matteo Diaz was printed in bold letters. He felt a strange sense of accomplishment at having discovered what M stood for, but before he could fully relish in it, the door swung open. Immediately, he braced himself for a fight, but relaxed again when two people he  _ definitely  _ recognised from the precinct walked in. 

“We’re taking over here, Kaz.” 

“Katz.”

“Whatever.” The man shrugged as Dave got to his feet. 

“Do you know if there’s been any progress with the interview?” He asked and the two of them exchanged a glance. 

“With Hargreeves in the interview room? I’m guessing no.” 

“He’ll probably have confessed to stabbing the kid himself by the time you get back,” The other added and they both sniggered. 

Frowning, Dave left without another word, heading back outside where Klaus was now wandering aimlessly around the carpark. 

“Oh, hey, you’re back!” He said when he spotted Dave coming towards him, reaching out and linking their arms together. “I’m feeling a lot better.” 

A crooked smile spread across his face and he nestled his head against Dave’s shoulder as they walked. 

“How’s M?”

“M is  _ Matteo. _ ”

“Ooh.” Klaus’ eyes widened excitedly and he laughed. “Diego’s gonna be so pissed.” 

Dave called them a cab, trying to ignore the effect that Klaus’ sudden bout of physical affection was having on him. He pressed himself tightly against Dave’s side in the back of the car, rubbing his cheek against one arm and tracing lines up and down the other. 

“You sure you’re okay?” Dave asked, bewildered by Klaus’ sudden change in mood, but he just hummed and nodded. 

“You feel nice,” He said quietly. “You’re a nice person.” 

“Maybe we should get you home before I go back to work.”

“I don’t have my keys,” Klaus told him matter-of-factly before turning and pressing his face into his shoulder. 

On impulse, Dave leant forward and redirected the driver back to his apartment, practically having to carry Klaus up the stairs to his door. Once they were inside, Klaus staggered over to the couch, having to curl himself up tightly to fit his legs on the cushions. 

“Is it okay if I stay here for a while?” Klaus asked, apparently oblivious to why Dave had brought him here in the first place. “I’m…” He yawned loudly, stretching his arms out in front of him. “I’m exhausted.”

Chuckling, Dave nodded, watching as Klaus struggled to get comfortable. 

“You can stay in my bed if you want.” 

Klaus looked at him for a moment before sighing and getting to his feet. 

“Okay, fine,” He said, taking Dave’s hand and leading him towards the bedroom. “But I hope you’re not expecting me to put any work in because I  _ really  _ don’t have the energy to-”

“Klaus-” He interrupted, spinning him back around to face him. “Can you stop assuming that everything I do is some weird ploy to get in your pants?” 

Klaus looked genuinely taken aback by that, blinking at him and cocking his head. 

“Is that not the goal?” He asked, draping his arms over Dave’s shoulders and giving him a coy smile. 

“It’s not the  _ only  _ goal,” Dave told him as he pried Klaus’ arms away. “And if it’s  _ your _ only goal then-”

He was cut off by Klaus pressing a finger against his lips. 

“It is not my only goal, Dave,” He said firmly, staring at him so intensely that he forgot how to speak for a moment. 

“Good,” He finally managed to say, clearing his throat awkwardly. “That’s good.”

He could feel his face flushing, and Klaus smiled at him in amusement. 

“I have to get back to work,” He said, glancing through the window at the taxi still waiting at the side of the road. “Get some sleep. I’ll be back later.”

“Have a good day at the office, dear,” Klaus said teasingly, reaching up and kissing the tip of his nose before turning on his heel and heading towards the bedroom. 

“You too,” Dave replied, realising what he’d said when he heard Klaus laughing. 

Stupid. Klaus was making him stupid. 

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> SLEEPY CUDDLES AND BED SHARING COMING SOON KINGS


	6. Chapter 6

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> "platonic" bed sharing

“He’ll need a light on if it starts getting dark,” Diego instructed as he glanced around the corner into Dave’s bedroom. “I mean the  _ whole  _ room needs to be lit up.” He paused, as though mentally going through a checklist in his head. “He’ll probably be disoriented when he wakes up. If he starts yelling, do  _ not  _ touch him until he asks. And don’t ask him about the nightmares.”

In the other room, Klaus stirred and let out a muffled whimper, mumbling indistinguishable pleas before settling and falling silent again. Diego’s eyes were fixed on him, his fingers twitching nervously at his sides. 

“Is that everything?” Dave asked and Diego nodded. 

“Yeah, I think so.”

Before he could change his mind about leaving Klaus, Patch put a hand on his shoulder and guided him towards the door, giving Dave a sympathetic smile as they left. He waited until he heard the car pulling out of the drive before he finally kicked his shoes off and headed into the bedroom. 

The floorboards creaked as he padded across the room and Klaus stirred, whining and thrashing on the bed until suddenly his eyes flew open and he sucked in a breath. 

“Jesus,” He breathed as his eyes darted around the room, finally spotting Dave at the other side of the room and smiling weakly at him. “Oh. Hello.”

“Hi.” Dave took a tentative step towards him. “Are you okay?”

Nodding, Klaus held his hands out towards him, sighing and pulling him closer when Dave took them. Once he was in front of him, Klaus guided his hand up to his face, closing his eyes and nuzzling at his palm as his breathing gradually slowed back down. 

“I thought you’d be gone for longer,” He said quietly as Dave sat beside him, resting his head on his shoulder. “I didn’t even get a chance to steal anything.” 

His smile was a little more genuine this time and Dave chuckled, running his fingers through Klaus’ mussed up hair. 

“You should try and get some more sleep,” He said, struggling to keep his own eyes open as a fresh wave of fatigue hit him. 

He didn’t take much convincing, scrambling further up the bed and curling up amongst the duvet. He tossed and turned for a moment and Dave frowned, watching as he struggled to get comfortable in the skin tight jeans he was wearing. 

“You can take those off, if you want.”

Klaus kept his eyes closed, but Dave could see the grin that spread across his face and he rolled his eyes. 

“What was that you said about  _ not _ trying to get in my pants?” He teased, sniggering when Dave hurled a pillow at him. “I’m kidding.” He prodded him with his toe and smirked up at him. “But if you really want to protect my  _ virtue _ , then I can’t take these pants off.” 

It wasn’t until Klaus waggled his eyebrows that Dave realised what he meant, and he felt his face flushing as he tried to stop himself from thinking  _ too much  _ about it. Klaus watched him with mild amusement as he floundered, trying to think of an appropriate response. 

“I…” He paused, clearing his throat while Klaus batted his eyes at him. “I’m pretty sure I have some sweatpants you can borrow. In one of those boxes.” 

“You’re so sweet.”

Klaus patted him affectionately on the head as he walked past him to the pile of unpacked boxes in the corner of his room, rifling through them while Dave scooted further up the bed and settled back against the pillows. 

“Dave, I am completely obsessed with your shirt collection,” He said as he pulled out a bright red floral printed shirt, slipping it on over the black t-shirt he was wearing and admiring himself in the mirror. “I’m keeping this.” 

“It looks good on you.”

“ _ Everything _ looks good on me.” 

As if to prove his point, Klaus spent a few more minutes trying on his shirts before he finally pulled out the sweatpants, giving Dave no warning to look away as he started shimmying out of his jeans. He stared fixedly at the wall in front of him until he felt the mattress dip and Klaus crawled back up to him, flopping onto his back and sighing. 

“Oh, that’s a lot better,” He breathed, smiling gratefully up at him. “Thank you.” 

Dave opened his mouth to reply, but all that came out was a loud yawn. He didn’t put up a fight when Klaus reached up and guided him down until he was laying on his back next to him. 

“You’re adorable when you’re tired,” Klaus said softly as he nestled himself against Dave’s side, draping one arm over his chest and stretching his other hand up to run his fingers through his hair. “This is nice.” 

“Mm,” Dave hummed, unable to get anything more coherent out with Klaus idly tracing patterns across his chest. 

It couldn’t have taken him long to fall asleep, because the next thing he was aware of was a blood curdling scream jolting him awake. 

Klaus was sitting up next to him, hunched over with his head in his hands and rocking back and forth slowly. 

“God  _ dammit _ ,” He muttered, sniffling and pushing his hair out of his face. 

“Are you okay?” 

He whipped his head around at the sound of Dave speaking, his eyes widening as he scrambled over to him. 

“Oh  _ shit _ . Dave, I’m so sorry. I didn’t mean to wake you up, I was just-”

“Hey! Hey, it’s okay.” He cupped Klaus’ face in his hands. “It’s okay. Just… Just breathe for a second.” 

Nodding, Klaus took a few shallow breaths. His eyes were red and watery, darting erratically around the room like a nervous animal, and his eye makeup was running in dark, smudged tracks down his cheeks. Dave swiped away a fresh tear with his thumb, pulling him down until Klaus was lying on top of him with his face tucked into the crook of his neck. 

“You’re okay,” He told him. “It was a dream. Just a bad dream.” 

“It’s not a dream,” Klaus said quietly, gripping his shirt with shaky fingers. “It’s a memory. The same one. Every time I close my  _ fucking  _ eyes.” 

The thought of something happening to Klaus that could make him feel like this, that anyone could  _ let  _ that happen to him, made Dave so angry he could scream. He hugged him tightly, waiting until Klaus’ breathing had evened out and the anger boiling in his gut had settled before he spoke again. 

“Do you wanna talk about it?” He asked, though he was pretty sure he knew what the answer was going to be. 

Sure enough, Klaus shook his head without much hesitation and Dave nodded, running his hand up and down his back comfortingly. 

“Well,” He said softly, “Whatever it was, I’m not gonna let anything like that happen to you again.” 

Klaus lifted his head slightly and looked up at him. His eyes were different. The confident, flirtatious Klaus was gone, replaced with a frightened, childlike version of himself. 

“Do you mean that?” He asked, his voice cracking and breaking Dave’s heart. 

“Course I do.” 

He brushed away the hair that was sticking to Klaus’ forehead, and the corner of Klaus’ mouth twitched into a small smile, dipping his head back down and nestling himself against Dave’s shoulder. 

“You don’t have to stay awake on my account,” Klaus said after a few minutes. “You must be exhausted.”

He  _ was  _ exhausted, but sleeping didn’t feel like an option when he could still feel Klaus trembling on top of him. 

“I’m not sleeping until I know you’re okay.”

“Oh, that’s a  _ very  _ bold statement, Dave,” Klaus said, sounding a little more like his normal self again. “You’re gonna need a  _ lot  _ of coffee.” 

He huffed out a laugh against Dave’s neck, wriggling on top of him as he tried to get comfortable. 

“Can you tell me more about your family?” He asked, tracing his finger along the collar of Dave’s shirt. “Or your home. Or school. I like hearing you talk.” 

“I was a jock in highschool.”

“No you weren’t.”

“I was!” He sniggered. “I mean… not on  _ purpose.  _ I was a complete mess in high school. Partly trying to be a model son, partly overcompensating for the gay thing, and partly trying to figure out who the hell I was or what I wanted to be.”

Klaus hummed thoughtfully. “I’ve always wondered what it would be like if we went to a normal school,” He mused. “I think I would have done well. Or been  _ horribly _ bullied. I’m not sure.”

“You would’a knocked me off my feet as a teenager,” Dave said and Klaus laughed. “I’m serious. I was this awkward, confused kid and you’re…  _ You _ . I wouldn’t know what hit me.”

“Given the nature of my teenage years, I think meeting someone as kind as you would have thrown me for a loop too.” Klaus rolled onto his stomach on top of him, propping himself up on his elbows and looking down at him. “Although, if I’m honest, it’s kinda throwing me for a loop now too.”

“I hadn’t noticed.”

A grin spread across Klaus’ face, and Dave swore he could see the faintest hint of a blush on his cheeks. 

“Maybe a college romance would have suited us better,” He suggested and Dave snorted. 

“That was my emo stoner phase.”

“Oh, well, that sounds perfect.”

Chuckling, Dave shook his head. “It wasn’t pretty. Too much eyeliner. Not enough showers.”

Klaus opened his mouth to say something, but dissolved into a fit of laughter before he could speak. 

“What?” Dave prompted but Klaus just shook his head, unable to respond. 

It was the first time he’d ever seen Klaus laugh like that, rolling onto his back and clutching his stomach. The laughter was infectious, and Dave found himself sniggering too, still none the wiser about what Klaus was thinking. 

“I’m sorry,” Klaus managed to say after a few minutes, wiping a tear from the corner of his eye. “It’s just… that sounded like the perfect title for my autobiography.” 

Dave chuckled. “I want a mention in the dedications if you use it.”

“You will have an entire  _ page _ , my love,” Klaus said, rolling onto his side and smiling at him. “What did you study at college?” 

“Classics.”

“Ooh! Valde infigo!” 

“You speak Latin now?” Dave asked, shaking his head because  _ of course  _ he did. 

“A little.” Klaus shrugged. “Our father’s idea of an education was to fill our little heads with as much useless information as possible. And  _ thus  _ we went out into the world, with minimal social skills and an  _ encyclopedic  _ knowledge of fifteenth century art history.”

Sighing, Klaus nestled his head against the pillow and closed his eyes, and Dave regarded him for a moment. The late afternoon sun gave a warm glow to his cheeks, and the eyeliner smudged around his eyes accentuated his lashes. Up this close he could see all the little details of his face. The faint freckles on his nose, a mole on his cheek, a tiny, circular scar underneath his lip that must have once been pierced. 

Klaus’ eyes fluttered open again, a deep, earthy green in the fading light, watching him curiously with a serious expression on his face. 

“Can I ask you a personal question, Dave?” He asked softly. 

He wasn’t sure exactly what Klaus considered to be a personal question, but he nodded. 

“You moved here for a fresh start, right? And I’m just… a little confused about how I fit into that. I’m usually the thing people are trying to get _ away _ from, not the other way around. And you’re so  _ nice _ . And I-”

“Klaus,” Dave interrupted before he could continue on his self-deprecating tangent. 

“Sorry.” He huffed out an awkward laugh. “I’m just not used to this. And right now it feels like I’m the butt of a joke I don’t understand yet because, no matter what way I look at it, I can’t find a single reason why someone like you would actually  _ like  _ me.” 

Dave didn’t respond straight away, not wanting to speak too soon and accidentally say the wrong thing. So instead he thought it over, considering everything that had happened over the last few days before looking back up at him. 

“You wanna know the truth?” He asked and Klaus nodded. “I’ve spent my entire life trying to be something I’m not. And it was  _ exhausting _ . Everything I did, everyone I spoke to, everything I pretended I liked or pretended I didn’t, it was all to try and get some kind of approval. I came here because I was tired of it and I didn’t want to try to  _ be  _ anything anymore, and then I met you and… Klaus, you’re the first thing I’ve ever wanted without  _ needing  _ a reason. I… Does that make any sense?”

Rather than giving him an answer, Klaus leant forward and pressed a kiss to his lips. Dave barely had a chance to register what was happening before he pulled away again, looking at him expectantly. Taking the initiative, he cupped Klaus’ cheek in his hand and guided him back into the kiss. 

Klaus’ lips were softer than he’d imagined, and he made quiet little noises against him that made Dave want to lock the door and stay there with him forever. Unfortunately, forever only lasted a few more seconds, and they were interrupted by a loud knocking on the front door. 

Flushed and a little breathless, Klaus pulled away from him again and sniggered, shaking his head in disbelief. 

“Go figure,” He said quietly and Dave chuckled. “Could have told me you were expecting company.” 

“I’m not expecting anybody,” He told him, cursing the distance Klaus had put between them that left him just out of reach. “It’s probably just a door salesman.”

The knocking came again, this time more insistent, and Klaus sighed. 

“Well, it sounds like he’s  _ desperate  _ to make commission today,” He said as he scooted off the bed. “I’ll go let him down gently. Or maybe sign you up to a pyramid scheme, depending on how persuasive he is.” 

He waggled his eyebrows and Dave laughed, watching as Klaus sauntered out of the room. 

He heard the sound of the door opening and low talking in the other room, then the sound of the door shutting again. A few seconds later, Klaus reappeared through the door and walked back up to the bed. As soon as he was close enough, he wrapped his arm around him and pulled him onto his lap, eliciting a snorty giggle from him. 

“Easy, tiger,” He teased and Dave smirked, settling back against the pillows. 

“What took you so long?” He asked, quirking his eyebrow at him. “Who was it?” 

“My brother.” Klaus draped his arms over his shoulders and cocked his head at him. “He wants to know what your  _ intentions  _ are with me.” 

“Yeah? How much time do I get to think it over?” 

“Zero seconds.”

Diego’s voice from the other side of the room startled the life out of him, and he shoved Klaus off of him onto the mattress. 

“Jesus  _ Christ _ ,” He explained while Klaus curled up in a fit of giggles. “What do you  _ want?  _ ”

“I need to talk to you,” Diego said bluntly and Dave rolled his eyes. 

Of course. Of  _ fucking  _ course he did. 

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> "platonic"


	7. Chapter 7

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> It's the penultimate chapter babes how we feeling

Klaus didn’t look happy about this plan, wringing his hands together nervously as Diego disappeared up the boardwalk on his own. 

“He’ll be fine,” Dave assured him, though he wasn’t entirely comfortable about Diego going off on his own either. “Come on.”

He draped his arm around Klaus’ shoulders and led him back around to the front of the club. They managed to find a decent spot to sit, far enough away from the entrance that they wouldn’t attract any unwanted attention, but close enough to get a good view of everyone coming and going through the front doors. 

They sat in a silence that was just teetering on uncomfortable for a while, the low rumble of the club music and the bustle of crowds outside slowly fading into the background until all Dave could think about was how  _ quiet  _ Klaus was. 

“Hey,” He said quietly, nudging Klaus’ arm when he didn’t respond. “Are you okay?”

It was a few seconds before Klaus finally seemed to register that he was being spoken to, blinking up at him blankly. 

“I’m okay.” He nodded. “It’s just…” He paused, looking back down at the floor and huffing out a laugh. “You’d think with all my stints in rehab that staying sober would have gotten easier by now.” 

“I don’t think it’s supposed to be easy,” Dave said as he shuffled closer to him. “I mean… If it was  _ easy  _ to quit, then you probably didn’t have an addiction in the first place right?” 

Klaus hummed and hung his head. “Yeah, or maybe I’m just a coward,” He mumbled. “Maybe all of this is just an excuse.” 

“An excuse for what?”

“I don’t know.” He shrugged. “I mean… I can handle being the junkie that everyone treats like shit and crosses the street to avoid but… what if it’s nothing to do with the drugs? What if it’s just  _ me?  _ ”

He sniffled, keeping his eyes on the ground and not responding when Dave rested his hand on top of his. 

“I think,” He said slowly, linking their fingers together, “That those assholes will always be assholes. But I also think there’s probably a lot of people like me out there, wishing that more people could be like you.” 

“That’s a nice thought.” Klaus looked up at him and smiled, wiping his eyes on the back of his sleeve. “A world full of Daves.” 

Dave chuckled and squeezed his hand, and Klaus shuffled closer to rest his head on his shoulder. Neither of them said anything for a few minutes, but this time the silence was comfortable, leaning against each other and watching as people in expensive suits and dresses milled about along the edge of the dock. 

“I’m really sorry, by the way,” Klaus said after a while, running his thumb back and forth across the heel of his hands. “For getting high again and not telling you. That was fucked up I… I shouldn’t have done that in your apartment.”

“It’s okay.” He paused, resting his head against Klaus’. “I mean… obviously it’s not  _ okay _ but… You know if you ever start feeling like that again you can tell me, right?”

“Yeah,” He said quietly. “Yeah, I know, I just… I really don’t wanna screw this up. You know?” 

Dave nodded, chewing on his lip for a moment before he spoke again. 

“Hey, uh… When you kissed me the other night. Was that you or just-”

“Me!” Klaus interrupted, grabbing his shoulders and turning him towards him. “That was me, that wasn’t… I mean, I guess the pills might have given me a  _ confidence  _ boost but… Dave, I’d been wanting to do that since I met you.”

He cocked his head, giving him a small smile and staring at him his wide eyes, and it was the most sincere Dave had ever seen him. Smiling back at him, Dave leant forward and pressed a chaste kiss to his lips, and the contented hum Klaus let out washed over him like a warm ray of sunshine. Klaus batted his eyes at him, his eyelids glinting when they caught the light, and Dave chuckled. 

“Are you wearing glitter on your eyes?” He asked and Klaus blinked up at him, like he’d forgotten ever putting it on. 

“Oh, yeah.” He smiled, touching one eye with the tip of his finger and examining the flecks of glitter that came off. “I know Diego said we needed to be inconspicuous but… I couldn’t resist.” 

“It looks pretty.”

Klaus hung his head shyly and chuckled. “Thanks,” He said quietly, pausing and furrowing his brow thoughtfully. “He’s been gone a while, hasn’t he? Diego, I mean.” 

“Yeah…” Dave looked back over at the club doors. A large crowd had gathered a few feet in front of them now, almost completely obscuring their view. “Come on.” 

They made their way through the crowd towards the front of the club, trying to spot Diego among the throng of people coming and going through the doors. 

“Hey! Hi! Excuse me,” Klaus ran up to a group of people leaving the club. “Have you seen my brother? He’s pretty hard to miss. Kina tall? Always looks like someone pissed in his cereal? He has this huge scar across the side of his-” 

The group pushed passed him and Klaus slumped his shoulders deflatedly. 

“Rude,” He mumbled as Dave caught up to him. “I’ll try calling him.” 

He watched as Klaus fumbled around for his phone and dialed the number, and the two of them leant in as they listened to it ringing. 

“You’ve reached Diego Hargreeves,” A voice that was unmistakably Klaus’ said chirped the phone. “I’m too busy  _ brooding  _ in dark alleyways to answer the phone right now, but leave a message and I’ll call you back. Or maybe  _ I won’t _ , because I’m an asshole who doesn’t check his messag-”

“What are you doing with my phone?” A second voice called in the background. 

“Nothing! No! I’m not- Get  _ off  _ me, asshole-” 

The message cut off and Klaus snapped his phone shut with a disgruntled sigh. 

“We could have left a message,” Dave pointed out and Klaus laughed. 

“Dave, did you listen to a  _ word  _ I just said?” He huffed as he shoved his phone back into his pocket. “He doesn’t know how to open his voicemail. And I’ve never shown him because until  _ now  _ it’s never been that big of an inconvenience for me.”

“Okay, well, why don’t we go and wait for him by the car?” 

Wrapping his arm around Klaus’ shoulder, he guided him back towards the road, and the two of them walked for a few minutes before they reached the spot where they’d left Diego’s car. 

“He  _ ditched  _ us? That prick!” Klaus sat down heavily on the edge of the kerb and scuffed his shoe against the tarmac. “I can’t believe him. Why would he take off without telling us?” 

“Hey.” Dave sat down next to him, squeezing his hand. “If he took off that fast, it must have been for something important, right?” 

Klaus nodded. “Yeah, you’re right.” He sighed and slumped against him. “Him and his stupid hero complex.”

The two of them sat together for a few minutes, Dave fidgeting with his shirt collar while Klaus stared up at the moon as it emerged from behind a cloud. He looked almost otherworldly with the moonlight giving a faint glow to his skin and the flecks of glitter glinting with each small movement. It was hard to believe he was real sometimes. He looked like he belonged in an art gallery display or in the window of a cathedral. If it weren’t for the pulse that he could feel in Klaus’ hand, he could easily be convinced that he was just a figment of his imagination. 

After a moment, Klaus noticed him staring and looked over at him, smiling at him before ducking his head down and nestling against his shoulder. 

“Whatcha thinkin’ about, Davie?” 

“You,” Dave said absent-mindedly and Klaus sniggered. 

“That’s sweet.”

“Mm,” He hummed, reaching up to run his fingers through Klaus’ hair. “You remember the other day, when you asked me what it was I liked about you?” He waited until he felt Klaus nodding before he continued. “Why do you like me?”

Klaus looked up at him like it was the most ridiculous question he’d ever heard in his life. 

“Because you’re the most beautiful thing I’ve ever seen,” He said matter of factly. 

Dave really doubted that was true, but he said it so sincerely it was hard to believe he was lying. Still, Klaus seemed to sense that wasn’t the answer he was looking for and he sighed, looking back up at the sky as he continued. 

“Because you listen,” He said quietly. “Because… I’m used to people not taking me seriously. And I’d convinced myself that I was okay with that, but then you showed up and you… You look at me like you care about what I’m saying, even if it’s total bullshit, and… and you  _ listen  _ to me. You make me feel like I  _ exist _ , and I don’t ever want to go back to being invisible again.” 

He hummed contentedly when Dave kissed the side of his head, his eyes fluttering shut for a second as he took a breath. 

“Would it ruin the moment completely if we made out on this disgusting sidewalk?” 

Klaus cocked his head and Dave chuckled, dipping down to kiss him. Within seconds Klaus had managed to clamber onto his lap, wrapping his legs around his waist and cupping his face in his hands. Before Dave could start enjoying himself too much, he pulled away again, turning and looking both ways down the road. 

“What are you doing?” Klaus asked, following his eyes. 

“Waiting for your brother to inevitably show up and ruin this.” 

Sniggering, Klaus tilted his chin back to kiss him again. 

“Don’t be too hard on him,” He said between kisses. “He’s still got a long way to go to one up me.” 

“What does that mean?” Dave looked up at him and Klaus darted his eyes away guiltily. “What? You walk in on him and Patch or something?”

“No! No, no, nothing like that. No, this was before.” Klaus sighed, looking back up at him. “There was… this guy he was seeing- well,  _ banging _ . And he told me it was a no-strings-attached kinda deal but it turned out there  _ were  _ a few strings attached but I didn’t  _ know  _ that and-”

“You slept with him.”

“I  _ did _ .” He hung his head and Dave chuckled. 

“ _ Jesus _ , Klaus.” 

“Yeah, I know. I know, I know, but! Listen! He broke things off and then a few months later he met  _ Patch! _ Who’s like.. the love of his  _ life  _ or whatever. So, in a...  _ roundabout _ sorta way, I did him a favour!” 

Dave couldn’t help but laugh and Klaus grinned, leaning down and nosing at his neck. 

“We gonna stay here all night?” He asked, glancing up at him with a mischievous glint in his eye. 

“Your place or mine?” 

“Mine’s closer.”

“Mine has an  _ actual  _ bed.”

“Wow! Low blow.” Klaus sniggered, sitting upright. “Alright, let’s go.”

He hopped to his feet, holding his hand out to help him up and swinging their arms as they made their way down the street. Maybe it was just a coincidence, but Dave could swear the streetlamps glowed a little brighter each time he squeezed Klaus’ hand. 

Either Dave’s apartment was a lot closer than he thought, or they’d been walking a lot faster, but before he knew it Klaus was practically dragging him up the steps, snaking his arms around his waist and resting his chin on his shoulder while he waited for him to get his keys out. He barely had time to question why the lights were already on inside before Klaus’ hands were on him, cupping his face and crashing their lips together. 

“Klaus,” He managed to say between kisses. “Klaus, hang on a sec.”

Pulling away, Klaus looked up at him, confused. “What’s wrong?”

“Nothing!” He ran his thumb across Klaus’ cheek reassuringly. “Nothing, I just… Should we be  _ worried?  _ About Diego, I mean?”

Klaus made a face. “What?  _ No _ , no, he’s fine! Trust me, I have a man on the ground.”

“What does  _ that  _ mean?”

“Dave.” Klaus placed both hands on his shoulders and looked at him with a burning intensity. “Can we  _ please  _ stop talking about my brothers?” 

He was kissing him again before Dave had a chance to think, and this time he let him, wrapping his arms around Klaus’ waist and pulling him closer. Klaus’ fingers trailed tentatively down his chest, sliding underneath his blazer and gently pushing it off his shoulders. Reluctantly, Dave took his hands off him for a moment so he could shrug the jacket off and toss it aside, waiting for Klaus to return the gesture before grabbing his hips roughly and pulling him flush against him. 

Klaus’ demeanor changed with that, no longer rushing to get his hands on him, he draped his arms over his shoulders and stared up at him expectantly, waiting for him to make a move. On a whim, Dave trailed his hands lower, grabbing his thighs and lifting him up. Klaus yelped at the sudden movement, giggling and wrapping his legs around his waist, he dipped his head down to mouth along Dave’s jawline while he carried him into the bedroom. 

This time it was impossible to ignore the way every light in the room lit up the second he pushed the door open, and he looked down at Klaus in awe. 

“Are you doing that?” He asked and Klaus blinked innocently up at him. 

“I think so,” He said quietly. “It’s been happening a lot. Freaky, right?” 

“It’s incredible,” Dave breathed, laying Klaus gently down on the bed and dipping his head down to kiss him. “You’re incredible.” 

Huffing out a laugh, Klaus shoved his chest playfully. “Shut up.”

“It’s true,” He whispered as he peppered kisses across his cheek. “So incredible. And beautiful. You’re the most beautiful thing I’ve ever seen.” 

It was like a dam had been broken, and now the words were tumbling out of his mouth. Klaus let out a whine and threw his arms over his face, trying to hide the blush spreading across his cheeks. Unable to reach his face, Dave took to kissing along his forearms for a few minutes until Klaus finally moved them away again, reaching up to tug on the collar of his shirt. 

“Too many clothes,” He grumbled, managing to awkwardly undo two buttons before giving up and letting Dave take over. 

“Better?” He asked once his shirt had been discarded. 

Klaus didn’t say anything, tracing his fingers across his chest with an absent expression on his face. 

“Hey.” He tilted Klaus’ chin up. “You okay?”

“Yeah,” Klaus said quietly, nodding. “Yeah, I’m okay. Sorry.”

“Do you wanna stop?” 

“No! No, no, I…” He paused, chewing on his lip for a moment and sighing before looking up at him. “I’ve never… This is the first time I’ve been sober for this. Just…”

He trailed off, shifting uncomfortably, and Dave reached up to push a few stray locks of hair away from his forehead. 

“Klaus,” He said softly, lifting his weight off him and propping himself up on his elbows. “We don’t have to do anything.”

“No, I want to! I do! It’s just… Very intense. And weird.”

Dave nodded, stroking his cheek. “We can go slow.” 

There was a pause, and then Klaus nodded, smiling and pulling him down to kiss him. 

…

With all the lights on, it was hard to tell what time it was when Dave opened his eyes, but a quick glance out the window told him it was still the middle of the night. Klaus was awake next to him, sat up against the pillows and massaging his temples as he mumbled quietly to himself. 

“Klaus?” 

He snapped his head up to look at him, his eyes going wide when he realised Dave was awake. 

“Shit, I’m sorry. Did I wake you up?” He rolled onto his side, scooting towards him and kissing his nose. “Go back to sleep.”

With Klaus’ face this close to him, Dave could see he’d been crying again. He reached out and pushed the hair away from his forehead, swiping one of the tear tracks away with his thumb. 

“Was it another nightmare?”

“It doesn’t matter,” Klaus said, shaking his head. 

“Yeah it does.” 

Klaus tried to look away from him but Dave tilted his chin back, leaning forward to kiss him. 

“It does matter,” He told him. “And if we’re gonna make this work, then you’ve gotta start letting me try to help.”

“Mm,” Klaus hummed, resting his hand on Dave’s cheek and smiling sleepily at him. “Do you really wanna make this work?” 

“More than anything.”

“Okay, good. Then come here.” 

Rolling onto his back, Klaus reached out and pulled Dave towards him until his head was resting on his chest, running his fingers through his hair. 

“Dave, I have been having the exact same dream, every single night, since I was eight years old. And it is so,  _ so  _ sweet how much you care. But if we’re  _ really  _ gonna make this work then you’re gonna have to accept that this shit isn’t going anywhere any time soon, and I  _ can’t  _ let you stay awake every night trying to make me feel better.” He paused, waiting until Dave looked up at him before he continued. “I  _ promise _ , just being here is helping. Now please get some sleep.” 

He didn’t say anything in response, letting his eyes fall shut again as Klaus traced his finger along the bridge of his nose, and listening to the sound of his heart beating slowly in his ear. 


	8. Chapter 8

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> This is more of an epilogue than a chapter but it's cheesy as shit and I'm not gonna apologise

It had been three days since they arrested Antoni Romani. Three days since Diego had left the force. Three days since he’d last seen Klaus. He and Patch had been working solidly to try and wrap the case up, bringing in any known accomplices, raiding storehouses, and shutting Obsidian down. But now, finally, the work seemed to have paid off. Antoni was still refusing to talk, but they had so much evidence against him that jail time was almost guaranteed, and while that asshole was hauled off to court, Dave and Patch could take some time off. 

He already knew Klaus was home alone, after listening to Patch talking his ear off last night about finally being able to invite Diego over to “talk”, so that morning he wasted no time in heading over to his apartment. It wasn’t until he was halfway up the steps to the door that he started to feel nervous. They hadn’t actually spent any meaningful time together since that night at his apartment, and they’d never gotten much chance to really  _ talk  _ about what was gonna happen next. He found himself wishing he’d called ahead instead of just showing up on the doorstep unannounced, but he was here now, knocking on the door, with no real idea of what he was going to say. 

All the niggling doubts were completely stripped away again when Klaus opened the door, beaming at him the second he saw him. 

“Dave!” He said excitedly, throwing his arms around him and hugging him tightly.

“Hi,” Dave managed to say with Klaus squeezing the life out of him. 

The two of them stood in the doorway holding each other for a moment. Klaus’ hair was soft and smelled of strawberries, and he giggled when Dave buried his nose in it. 

“I missed you,” He found himself whispering. And he had. So much. Every second he’d spent in that precinct going over paperwork and interviews, he wished he could have been with Klaus instead. 

“Yeah, I missed you too.”

Klaus pulled away from him again, giving Dave a chance to look at him. He was wearing a dark green knitted sweater that looked at least two sizes too big and hung loosely off his shoulders, and grey patterned leggings. He also looked like he’d managed to get a couple nights of good sleep, even with the eyeliner smudged along his lash line, his eyes still looked brighter.

“You look good,” He said and Klaus sniggered. 

“And you look positively ravishing, my dear,” He said dramatically as he took his hand. “Come in, come in, sit down, I was just about to make coffee.” Klaus pulled him through the door, guiding him over to the couch and sitting down with him. “Sorry about the mess. Diego and I got white girl wasted a couple nights ago and the recycling collection isn’t until Wednesday so… You know.” 

He gestured vaguely to the collection of empty bottles on the coffee table and Dave chuckled. 

“So you have a couple days off now? Same as Patch?” Klaus asked, cocking his head at him. 

He was still smiling brightly at him, like just being here had made his entire day, but Dave couldn’t help feeling slightly guilty for not letting him know earlier. 

“Yeah.” He nodded, chewing on his lip. “I’m sorry. I… I should have called or something. It’s just been so-”

“Crazy,” Klaus finished for him. “I get it.” 

“Still,” He said as he wrapped his arms around him and pulled him closer. “I should have called.”

Klaus went pliant in his arms, allowing Dave to pull him onto his lap and curling up against him. 

“You did have me worried for a second,” He said softly, tucking his face into the crook of Dave’s neck and tracing along the collar of his t-shirt with his finger. “Thought maybe you were having second thoughts.” 

“Definitely not.”

He could feel Klaus’ smile against his neck, and he turned to kiss the top of his head, humming contentedly when Klaus sat up to kiss him properly. The last of his lingering fears that maybe this hadn’t been something real melted away, replaced with something new. Something that made him feel like his heart was about to climb out of him and take root in Klaus’ chest. Something that made him want to forget about the rest of his life and just stay here on this couch with him forever. Something that he’d never felt about any other person in his life. 

“I was thinking,” He said when Klaus broke away again to breathe. “Maybe we could get dinner tonight? Do some normal boyfriend stuff for a change.”

Klaus smiled dopily at him. “Nobody’s ever taken me to dinner before.”

“Well then I guess I gotta change that.” He leant forward to kiss him again. “We’ll go somewhere fancy. I can pretend to propose so we get a free dessert.” 

“That is the most  _ wonderful _ idea I’ve ever heard,” Klaus agreed, cupping his face in his hands. “Where have you  _ been  _ all my life?” 

“The Canadian outback.” 

He sniggered, reaching for his hand and linking their fingers together. “Well, can you promise to stay here now? Because I don’t ever want to go back to not having you around.”

Klaus was kissing him again before he could reply, but he hoped he knew the answer was yes, because for the first time, life felt worth living. It was worth living here. It was worth living for Klaus. 

**Author's Note:**

> Dave be like fellas is it gay to hold hands with another man for 2 seconds and wind up spending the rest of the day thinking about it 🤔
> 
> Next up.. Arcade shenanigans 👀👀


End file.
